The Roosevelt symphony Side-by-Side orchestra concert took place last night at Roosevelt , marking a very exciting night for all of the musicians. At the concert, each Roosevelt musician had the opportunity to share a stand with a member of the Seattle Symphony, allowing the two groups to play a piece together. Sophomore violinist Emily Louden remarked that La Mer, the textual piece the orchestras played together was challenging but rewarding. “While most of my friends were a bit reluctant to play La Mer, having the symphony there helped make it fun. La Mer is the kind of piece that grows on you, but when you sit next to extremely good violinists it’s more of an instantaneous “wow I do like this piece a lot”,” Louden commented.
Junior violinist Evan Johanson had the unique opportunity to play a separate solo piece with the Seattle Symphony during the concert. Sophomore orchestra member Amy Harris remarked that “Evan’s solo went really well. It sounded really good.” Harris took part in the Side by Side concert as well. “The Side by Side sounded great too, every Roosevelt musician got to share a stand with a Symphony musician,” Harris said. The Side by Side piece received a standing ovation, and seemed to be enjoyed by all of the musicians as well.
The concert was a unique opportunity for the two orchestras to play together, and for the Roosevelt Orchestra to work with such an esteemed group of musicians. Louden said, “My stand partner was awesome. He was very good at hitting all the right notes and had a killer Russian accent.”
Featured Photo: The Symphonic Orchestra practices after an excellent concert the night before. Photo by Nathan Smith
